Where is Telluride CO?

Telluride ski resort sits in southwest Colorado in the four corners region where Colorado meets Utah, Arizona and New Mexico. Telluride is located on State Highway 145 in the San Juan Mountains. Nearby are the Telluride (10km – 6 miles away) and Montrose (105km – 65 miles) regional airports.

Telluride CO is approximately 330 miles (530 km) southwest of Denver, about a seven hour drive, and 5 hours drive northwest of Albuquerque, New Mexico.

There are two major parts to Telluride. The historic town of Telluride sits at an elevation of 8,750 feet (2,668 metres) whilst the ski resort’s Mountain Village is up at an elevation of 9,545 feet (2,921 metres). The two areas are interconnected by a gondola or they are about 3 miles apart by road.

Ski Areas Near Telluride CO

Silverton Mountain is a powder hound paradise with gnarly terrain for advanced and expert riders. Silverton is not far away as the crow flies, but it’s about 73 miles away by road to the southeast.

Purgatory Ski Resort is 94 miles south (1:45 hours) of Telluride CO and is well suited to families, riders who like the groomers, and those on a tight budget. There is also a cat skiing operation based at the resort.

Telluride CO is incredibly fortunate that it has a heli skiing operator based at the ski resort. Helitrax is a premier heli skiing operation, and one of only 8 heli-ski outfits in continental USA. So if you’re in Telluride it seems almost scandalous not to take up this unique opportunity!

The closest cat skiing operation is Silverton Powdercats, near Silverton.

Flights to Telluride

Gateway airports for getting to Telluride include Telluride, Montrose and Durango. To search for Telluride flights, use one of our recommended flight search engines so you can compare various airlines, rates, and flight schedules.

Telluride Airport:
Telluride Regional Airport (TEX) is 6 miles from the town of Telluride. Telluride airport has direct service from Denver. The flight from Denver to Telluride takes 1:05 hours and the flight is complete eye candy with snow capped jagged mountains as far as the eye can see.

The tiny Telluride airport sits on a little plateau at high elevation, and it’s somewhat weather plagued. When the foul weather hits, flights are commonly cancelled or diverted to the nearby Montrose airport. Another disadvantage of flights to Telluride airport is that the planes are very small and there’s always a risk that your luggage won’t arrive at the same time as you.

Montrose:
Montrose Regional Airport (MTJ) is 68 miles from Telluride and is probably the airport of choice for most visitors to Telluride ski resort. Flights originate from Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Newark (NYC), Dallas and Chicago.

How to Get to Telluride from Airports

If you are only skiing at Telluride ski resort, you are probably best to get a shuttle or a taxi, as once you’re in Telluride you won’t need a car.

From Telluride Regional Airport there are a myriad of transport options to get into town or up to Mountain Village, all of which are reasonably inexpensive. There are generally taxis to greet incoming flights, or you can pre-book transport with one of the operators such as Telluride Express or Mountain Limo.  Alternatively, some of the upmarket Telluride hotels provide complimentary transport to Telluride airport.

From Montrose airport, there are various shuttle companies such as Telluride Express that offer on-demand shuttles to Telluride. Airport to Telluride transfers can be organised as part of a Telluride ski package.

Driving to Telluride

If you plan to ski at various ski resorts in southwest Colorado, it’s worthwhile renting a car at one of the airports. To compare rates for different car companies, use one of our recommended car rent search engines.

If you’re using a GPS device to get to Telluride, double check the settings to ensure you don’t end up on a summer-only road!

Getting Around Telluride

A car isn’t necessary to get around Telluride, but if you have a car, check that your accommodation provides parking because parking on the street is often time limited. For the Mountain Village an option for free parking is at the Station Village. From there it’s an easy gondola ride up to the village.

The town of Telluride is approximately 12 blocks long and 8 wide so it’s easy to walk around, however if you want to save your energy for skiing or snowboarding, the town has the Galloping Goose shuttle service which loops around the town every 15 minutes. Look out for the signs for pick up points.

The main part of the Mountain Village is quite compact so it’s easy to negotiate on foot. However there are some accommodations that are located further afield, even though they have the convenience of being ski-in ski-out. One option is to use Dial-A-Ride, a free transportation service that operates around Mountain Village. There are courtesy phones around the village, or a guest service host can radio for a pick-up.

Travel between the town of Telluride and Mountain Village is super easy via the gondola that runs from 7am to midnight, and only takes 13 minutes! The gondola is located a couple of blocks from the main street (Colorado Ave). There is also a free gondola between the Mountain Village and Market Plaza where there is free parking.

The other option to get around Telluride is to hail one of the many taxis.